The past 20 days have been a period of upheaval for our contestants”, says narrator, Femi Sowoolu as actions opened last night, the final day of this season’s Gulder Ultimate Search VI, the Nigeria’s leading reality television show sponsored by Gulder, the ultimate beer.
It began on July 18th with 10 strong and intelligent young men and women chosen from over 15,000 applicants across the nation: Vivian Okafor, Elvis Abogu, Melvin Oduah, Adaeze Nwogu, Chisom Egemasi, Deborah Omekhigien, Olawale Akanbi, Uche Nwaezeapu, Chuks Okorji and Oseyiomon Okoh.
By the time the curtain was drawn from the show Friday night, it was 26 year- old Uche Nwaezeapu who found the horn of valour, hidden in the hands of the beautiful maiden of Omodo Forest, Aagba in Osun State. It was a very keen contest.
As the Americans would say, it was too close to call as last two remaining heroes Melvin and Uche matched each other strength for strength and wit for wits. Unlike in the last five seasons where the first hero who got to where the treasure was hidden never found it, this time, both took off and arrived the location almost the same time and began searching.
However, at the end something had to give and that was old mother luck which found Uche worthy to carry the day at the expense of hard fighting Melvin. After a frantic and desperate search that lasted for hours, he shouted from the distance: “Yes, I found something!”
Bob asked him to unwrap the strange object concealed in an ancient sack made from the bark of a tree. He did and out came the Horn of Valour,the treasure which the Order of Heroes had been searching for in the last 21 days. By that discovery, Uche Uwaezeapu, the Economics Graduate from Delta State in Nigeria’s oil rich Niger Delta region, becomes the sixth successive Ultimate Man and winner of the Gulder Ultimate Search VI.
Uche says his biggest fear “is not getting rich. I must be rich. I dread the idea of not being rich in life.” Uche craves a holiday in the Bahamas and believes his strongest characteristic is his “dress sense”.
Today, Saturday, August 8th, 2009, at a colourful ceremony in Miccom Golf Resort, Ada, Uche will exchange the horn of valour with N7million, a brand new SUV worth about N10million and N500,000 wardrobe allowance.
He takes over from Michael Nwachukwu who won the search in Awgu Hills in 2008 and joins the Gulder Ultimate Search Hall of fame.
The search is in its 6th season. The last five Ultimate Men include Ezeugo Egwagwu in 2004, Lucan Chamblis in 2005, Hector Jobarteh in 2006,Dominic Mudabai in 2007 and Michael Nwachukwu in 2008.
